back and bought it again after reading your article. I called Benjamin Franklin Plumbing in Minneapolis and they said these were good units. I am having my own American Water Heater nightmare right now. I had two new gas hot water heaters installed Friday. For decks we prefer ipe. Happy to have this as an option especially on a tank that may not have many more years ahead of it. Does anyone know the standard thread size for domestic immersion heaters in the How do we flip a left-hand Kwikset lock so it works on a right-hand door?I My girlfriends water heater goes cold as she runs a bath. I said, I want repair work done under warranty. They said, "Sorry, we won't honor the warranty because you weren't the original purchaser.". The part is supposed to arrive tomorrow but I am not hopeful this will occur from what I read in the other reviews. I replaced the pilot on 3/16/09. if that were true, so I was able to get a second GVT sent. I did some research and found out about this lawsuit. Next found water very hot July 21.
Having the point of use system next to your bedroom should solve for this problem. He even says he understands how I feel and it recently happened to him on something he bought! Wellgood news of my ordeal..I wrote to the manufacturer of this John Wood water tank and they reimbursed me the manifold kit. Exactly the same problem. Tuesday morning, I called around to local plumbers to see if they knew where I could find the part & one told me that American wasn't in our area anymore. Wellfor some reason it keeps burning out the thermocouple! After about three months of this, I called the company and told them what was going on. As of yet, I have not found one. They refuse to allow any other company or plumber to stock parts! The stores open. Put in new tank. The water just completely died this evening and I am out all this money for a brand new water heater. Can anybody tell me what the hell this is?
Others stopped working after the first year. They just told me to try a couple of things and nothing worked. We have an older mobile home, 1973.Currently on our My Kenmore (Sears?) They recommended a new gas valve. But they still sent a part for the wrong water heater even though I did give the correct serial #. It has operated okay until now. Called Whirlpool and Luquire had not called for a P O #. Be the first one to find this review helpful. Fortunately, I am rather handy at doing things myself, or else getting a plumber or gas technician to do the work for me would cost around $100.00, for which the company of course doesn't offer to pick up the bill. Newer should be quieter. Thermostats gone wild. Such a hassle. As of August 13, still have hot water. They would not give me a quote over the phone. The contents of this site may not be republished, reprinted, rewritten or recirculated without written permission. 7-yr-old water heater and the thermocouple failed. And it took four phone calls and being placed on hold for 15 minutes at a time to get my request in. We will never use his services again! Sorry to hear the repair wasn't successful, but at least you got your money back. I spoke with a male rep. who insisted on speaking over me when I was trying to explain my position, and after the third time of this, I asked to speak with a supervisor. He cleaned and inspected the unit.
Don't buy any of this company's faulty products! My husband purchased our Pro Water Heater from American Water Heater and as I write this we don't have any hot water, for the third time in two years! My American-brand hot water heater quit working. So now I am trying to contact them again to get the box for the second heater. See reviews below to learn more or submit your own review. I have done this for 25 years - it does not shorten the heater element life if you keep the spa balanced - "ph up" is sodium carbonate, baking soda is sodium bicarbonate - when in solution it is pretty much the same thing and it is adding sodium to the water. It's very difficult to unscrew the nuts because of the shoddy design, and the plumber and I both got cut on the very sharp edge of the main gas supply. I believe the maker of both of these water heaters is American Water Heater. That new unit would have been $707.09. Is this typical of your products? . My husband has to go and reset the mode switch, sometimes several times a day or we won't have hot water. Then July 30 checked Heater.leaking! My plumber installed it and got the pilot to light, but it would not stay lit. Even if the homeowner sold the house a week after installing the water heater, they won't honor their warranty to the new purchaser. So the supervisor either didn't listen to the entire recording or conveniently left that part out. I think I'll go with a Chinese company with better customer service in the future. Now I have had several problems in the last year with keeping the pilot lit. Traditional gas hot water tanks are a non-repairable like many appliances. We bought our house brand new back in 2005. At this point, there is no resolution. This other brand of heater also had a Honeywell gas control valve, but there have been no problems with it since it was installed almost a year ago. Will HW Heater work for 2 months, 2 years or 20 years (like the previous one)? The warranty has a clause stating that the warranty only applies to the original purchaser. I am a licensed plumbing contractor. He told us the water heater was not even installed to code. I called CenterPoint Energy Home Service Plus to see about their installation warranty but they also said the warranty did not get transferred to a new owner. I finally called to get a replacement part. So I am left with a water heater I cannot sell because it doesn't even have a full warranty (and therefore is a parts only warranty). I'm a young first time homeowner with a lot of houses in my future - and none of them will ever use an American Water Heater product again. The only way you can get parts is to call American brand and pay exorbitant shipping. Thanks so much for sharing your fix. We purchased our one year old home in 2006 when the hot water tank leaked to the point of having to replaced. Well, we got the part Wednesday morning & it was the wrong part, so my husband called back & they sent another one, which we got Friday morning & again it's the wrong part. They do not hold up well. An oil finish like Penofin is our preferred finish-wear a respirator. Well, it took a while, the better part of an afternoon. It has flooded the basement. Should I go with a tankless water heater? But the only replacement WH I can get is another AWHC product, and I am not so foolish as to get another AWHC water heater. I called up AWH and (stupidly) told them I wasn't the original purchaser. Rheem makes good hot water tanks. Check the ingredients of your moisturizers - usually mostly water, some oils and sodium in one for or another. did is a hack and defeated the burning chamber overheat prevention feature American Water Heaters has tried to blame the problem on my customers' gas pressure in one case. She said I needed a certain part to fix the problem but my unit was out of warranty so I'd have to purchase it. Well..nothing has helped, wasted $150 for a conversion kit and 3 thermocouple, finding out that I have a bad valve! I want them to at least pay for the shipping. The guy who shows up give me this ** story about my water pressure being on the high side. Up until last week we have had no issues with our hot water heater (model number: FG6150T403NOV, serial number: 0425109812). They made their choice and that's the consequences. I bought a home 2 years ago in 2011. It is logical that if both went at the same time and replacing the pilot assembly in one wouldn't fix it, it wouldn't fix the other. The biggest complaint seems to be problems related to having a whole home tankless system rather than the point of use types that are used pretty much everywhere but the US. I have a left-hand pedal crank with a fairly badly stripped thread. I am going to call the company who installed them and ask them to replace. I could not find the right one, so again I go on the internet and found that AWH used left-threaded thermocouple for three years before a class-action lawsuit stopped the practice. I started researching this converter kit and found out it was driven by a class action lawsuit (even though I had to pay $102.00 total). More bad news was yet to come. When my husband told this to the various service reps we've talked to, they all say the same thing, which is, that it's my fault the first part was the wrong part & they can't do anything to help us. I rigged a right-hand unit (by filing off the threads & placing it precariously in there as a temp fix), and called US Craftmaster. Dont buy American Water Heaters! The part was not a thermocouple but a BFG conversion kit. What a total waste of my time. After several months of trying to get the credit issued, American Water Heaters would only agree to giving me (through my supplier) a replacement unit with the warranty prorated (so it is already nearly 2 years into the warranty). I installed a nice Kenmore unit myself (not difficult) for $650 plus $30 for a flex connector kit.
Maybe $10/6 months. Now, a mere six years later, the same thing is happening.
Now the bottom is leaking all over the garage. Your ingenious idea saved my marriage. She informed me that since we had installed the piece on my unit, it was considered used and could not be returned. I think they also make Whirlpool. The previous homeowner bought an American Water Heater in 2004 with a 12-year warranty. Ipe will take an oil finish but needs to be refinished every year to maintain that look as the oil evaporates out of the ipe faster than cedar. Upon learning correct information, we called plumber Tom ** and he said he thought water heater was made in TN.
Thanks. They simply won't ship the parts he has asked for or replace the defective heater. When you're without hot water for your shower, it puts you on edge. (We had previous great service from a Rheem gas water heater for 24 years). Two tanks in a little over seven years is ridiculous. It is now mid-2013 and the pilot light has gone out. Flipped breaker back on and began to monitor Temperature of water very hot155F. We promised the store Now we know why American is no longer in our area & as soon as we can afford to, we are getting rid of our American water heater & going with a brand that has no affiliation with American whatsoever! After calling Customer Service, they sent me the pilot/thermopile assemblies for both tanks. One of the worst decisions I have ever made as a contractor. For more information about reviews on ConsumerAffairs.com please visit our Now, they sell (possibly) a regular right-hand threaded thermocouple, with a left-to-right adapter for the bargain price of $34.95! Under troubleshooting, they have info such as "Correct any issues prior to resetting the thermal switch" but nowhere does it tell how to reset the switch. My heater went out three days ago. Yesterday was the third thermo-coupler replacement and 30 hours later, it is out again. Well start sending you the news you need delivered straight to you. After being charge $33.00 for expedited shipping, I found out that the part was on backorder! My American Water Heater Company (AWHC) water heater (WH) went out on Sunday 7/21/13. I would be just heating water to leave in the pipes. The homeowner is being patient, but neither the customer nor I should have to deal with a water heater that was just installed 10 months ago already requiring a 3rd service call to get it to work. I explained the problem to the rep who answered and asked her what I could do. We value your privacy. Since the water heater was still under its 12-year warranty, they did supply the conversion kit for free; however, two-day delivery service did require my forking over $32.00 for shipping and handling, which I felt they should have paid since it was the design defect of the piece that caused a problem and was supposed to have been replaced as part of the lawsuit. They don't stand behind their products. All we want now is for them to take the unit back and pay us for it so we can buy one that works correctly. Brilliant! We went to Lowe's, shopping for another water heater. This unit has the discontinued left-hand threads, found nowhere else, so forced to order it from the manufacturer. Last month when the pilot light went out on our 1 year old Whirlpool hot water heater and would not stay re-lit, I replaced the thermo-coupler and all seemed well. We did research and found that 95% of a batch of 40 and 50 gallon shipped out had defective heating elements in them. I am reporting because we were provided false information prior to installation.
I need to replace the heat shields on my Gas Grill. About 25 years ago I went to Florida in the winter and swam in the ocean. We bought our water heater from Lowe's after being sweet talked into it by the salesman there, who said it was the best for us, last for 12+ years, be very cost efficient/energy efficient to operate, and actually save us money. I purchased an American Water Heater Proline Plus 12-year Self Cleaning, serial #0320115544, model#FG12240T403NOM, on Jan. 10, 2004 with 12-year warranty. Bob! Oh, and you can't just buy a universal thermocouple for $8 and get the thermocouple adapter - you have to order an entire door manifold assembly from AWH. You just lost a customer and one who will be very vocal to family, friends and acquaintances about your substandard product and service. I said, No, you can; but you won't. I told them that they are forgetting that when I have to buy a new water heater someday, it won't be from American Water Heater. She said there was nothing they would do for me. The water was so soft after months of hard tap water - started to do some research - they sell Dead Sea salts on line for dry skin and skin conditions to add to bath water and have it in moisturizers. So, he preferred to continue wasting my time and an unnecessary replacement part that to help fixing the problem. My American Proline (BFG12250T403NOV) leaked at 5 years of age. I keep paying for the replacements because we can't wait a day or so due to some medical conditions requiring multiple baths a day. If we get another wrong part on Monday, I don't know what we will do, because I can't keep going without hot water, not with two small children. Late night fix. Of course, I had to wait till 7/22 to contact AWHC technical support, and, based on the troubleshooting codes, the representative sent a new thermopile assembly. The pilot light on my American Water Heater would not stay lit. Found tripped breaker again on July 22. Fast forward to the recent past. ermo., discovered it was RH in the parking lot, returned it, and then went No problem, a quick run to any of the many hardware/home improvement places around & grab a $12 replacement. Could this be the Valve? We were told this water heater was under a class action lawsuit. I don't think I would have thought of or tried this otherwise! Saga continues. After many cold showers, some tomfoolery and a $120 plumber visit, the pilot will light but not stay lit - the plumber confirmed it's a bad thermocouple. ConsumerAffairs is not a government agency. So much for buying American, folks. I purchased on 1/18/08 model #BFG6240T403NO, serial #0745135192. All I wanted was a refund for the part. It is not worth the time and money. Knock it all you want but after you've tried it you'll always do it. Called (surprisingly open on the Saturday before Easter) & ordered the piece, only to find out it has been discontinued. As far as i can tell it all works fine. Avoid them! Wrong! I'm waiting for the other shoe to fall. Hopefully you will have no problems for the next 15-20 years. I have a 2 & 3 year old & I will not have hot water for 9 days on Monday. It took me several tries talking to plumbers before I found one that had experience with the point of use systems rather than just the whole home systems.. The American Pro Line water heaters started using a Honeywell gas control valve. Yet he says they "can't" do anything. My husband looked all over town Monday evening for the part that needed to be replaced (thermo reset switch), only to come up empty handed. I've called the manufacturer and got an RA number to replace the unit once the unit is returned to where the plumber bought the unit. Count me in. I was told to dismantle it and bring it in. Not as sorry as I am. The plumber who installed it says it needs parts and is under warranty. The company refuses to take it back unless a plumber (which we would have to pay again) declares it a lemon (we are in California where lemon laws are strictly enforced). The problem did not get resolved with that part so we replaced the water heater. I was able to perform the same fix with a reciprocating saw, and I am sure a hacksaw would work too. Copyright 2022 Consumers Unified LLC. Long story short, both my AWH water heaters (installed in parallel) went out last Friday. Had my water heater back up and running same day. Couldn't buy a left handed one so I had to get a conversion kitwhole assembly with door except the burner..put it in and is working but when thank is hot and shutting off it also shuts off gas flow to pilot light! I have switched back to Bradford White water heaters. It worked fine for the first few years, but has been a continual annoyance for the past several years. She sounded like she was maybe 18 years old and didn't want to give me her last name, so I think she was not an actual supervisor. Further research pushed me to calling up a local plumbing company and buying a new hot water heater (a Bradford). Got second unit just like first. My tankless hot water heater eliminates the sediment problem mentioned, plus my water is double filtered before it enters the heater. One of my friends has the whole home system and it takes forever for the hot water to get to the bathrooms. I thought since they had been in a major lawsuit, I might be sent a free replacement. Of course, I went ahead and replaced the pilot assembly in the second water heater. I am still currently dealing with one unit for another home owner, which keeps going out. It was manufactured late 2003, installed by a plumber in 2005, and used for four years in a ONE-person household before I got to it in 2012 (no one lived there for three years). A link has directed you to this review. No re-plumbing necessary. Hopefully when the parts arrive, it will prove to be as easy as the internet seems to make it sound to replace it, and I will have hot water again! Oh! I have had to boil water on my stove to give my kids baths & to wash dishes & for my husband & I to take baths, & we went through Thanksgiving without hot water. You saved our weekend & we can now bathe and wash dishes! Absolutely the worst service experience we've ever had with anyone we've ever dealt with! When I called the plumber, he didn't even schedule a service call. The oil finish is a nicer look than a finish such as Sikkens. I explained that I'd already been two weeks without hot water and went ahead and replaced the unit. It's a dude, a lemon, it keeps breaking and even though we are two years into our six yr. warranty we have no recourse other than an attorney. Pation privacy wood screen - what wood to use? We bought the th U rock. So, I called American & they said they could overnight the part for $30 so I ordered it (it is still under warranty so I only had to pay for shipping). I spoke with Sears parts (I guess they are affiliated with American) and was told that I would receive a credit (they would not answer what kind of credit). He didn't want to connect me, talked over me again, and when I told him he was rude he called me a ** and hung up on me! Between the Maytag / Whirlpool confusing me, the Home Depot / Lowe's confusing me, and so on, it was a bit of a wild ride. In Washington we have mostly western red cedar, redwood is more common down in California. When I checked on it that evening, I noticed the pilot was out again. So disconnected and returned unit July 31 Lowe's refunded $$. we wouldn't be back today! But ten minutes with the Dremmel and away we go. I have had to deal with repairing or replacing every water heater from this company (American Water Heater) within the first 3 years. This is simply not acceptable in an era of quiet appliance manufacturing. I also told them that I was a recent burn victim and I had just spent six weeks in the burn unit and could not bring it in. I pulled the Thermocouple back a little so just the very front is in the pilot light but it hasn't helped. The supervisor just says, "Thats what the warranty says." However, last week the pilot light went out. For a few customers, there have been repeated problems to the extent that we replaced the whole gas control valve with a new one up to three times and still continued to have problems. Repair person replaced both thermostats and lower element (tested bad) July 24. I can add to the list of complaints regarding the water heater, customer service, and company policies. And of course, they send you the part, but either you have to install it or spend the money to have it installed by a technician. Conclusion: stay away from this shoddy brand! The two that I had for 15 years were quiet and I was not aware when they were refilling or heating water. I have a Dremel and the disc for cutting, and it worked perfectly, cutting the original to slide the new couple into. She said they would look into it and remained firm about not paying for my shipping. Their warranty is parts and labor for the first year, but parts only on the 2nd-6th years. Companies displayed may pay us to be Authorized or when you click a link, call a number or fill a form on our site. P.S. Mind you, there are only two people living in the home, not a family of six, so we're not blowing the hot water. I called them back and asked where to send the part back for a refund. Cut the bolt, put it on the new thermocoupler and screwed it back in! Offered to take out at no costs to us. Ipe is more expensive and more difficult to work, but will last longer. When all was said and done, she said they'd send out a new heater because of the warranty, but that I would have to pay the $130 shipping charge because nobody in my area of CA carries American Water Heater products. I've seen toilets advertised with left-hand and right-hand trip levers. Whirlpool gave me a Return Number. This man did not want to talk to me (a female). I would rather shell out the extra for a safe, new product, than take a chance on a conversion kit that might fix the issue (Is the redesign even UL certified?). 340 gal tub, 2 boxes (6Kilograms) Epson salts, 8 cups potassium chloride (water softener salts) and 6 cups sodium chloride (water softener salts) plus/minus. It worked! We called in a plumber and received some bad news. Anyone know a pot filler faucet to dispense hot water? AWH never contacted me about this defective part and when I called about it, they were trying to charge me for the unit even though part of that settlement was to send customers a replacement. In both cases, the pilot would simply not stay lit. There are makers, which are genuinely interested in providing quality products and truly standing behind them. Class action lawsuit (again), anybody? I purchased the American Heat water heater less than two years ago. [recommended is 3/8 to 1/2"] It is around 1/4" now. I told them that this is just a greedy money-saving slimy business practice. At this point, 8 years after the original post, the plumbing suppliers almost laugh at your left-handed request. My plumber installed the part but could not get the WH pilot to light. Going to get me by until I can order a new left hand thread thermo. On my next call to AWHC (again, after having to wait till the next day), the rep. asserted that the WH was improperly vented. If not, no worries, I'll pay the $15 or so since I jury-rigged it so we have hot water till the true replacement arrives. It wasn't fun, but it could have been far more painful. Its location on this page may change next time you visit. Since the tank was not yet two years old, it was under warranty, so it was replaced. Thrown breaker July 20. First one didn't work and neither did the second one. A bad, LEFT-THREADED thermocouple. I was firmly instructed that I must bring the old one, as they wanted to pull it apart and see how it failed to ensure that gets fixed. Houzz Pro: One simple solution for contractors and design pros. I dunno how to do this shout-out. But I bought this house and everything in it, and I paid for it including a water heater that came with a warranty. Why not? Because what you The plumber we called checked and saw that the model I had was involved in a class action lawsuit because of that issue and suggested I call their 800 number. All customer service could offer me was their apologies. My heater obviously did not get the replacement kit. Unsubscribe at any time. But so far, I have had no luck finding a place to return or pick up a new one. Cons: But there is no repair path - not because of the specific component that failed, but rather because this heater was designed such that even replacing the simplest component will cost almost as much as getting a new heater installed.
For 15 years I had installed another brand, which was completely reliable. My husband spoke to a service rep & a supervisor yesterday & the supervisor told my husband it was my fault that the wrong part was sent & he knew this because he listened to the recording of my conversation. Our content is intended to be used for general information purposes only. I spoke to 3 customer service people and a supervisor. On many of my customers' water heaters, these valves would stop working within a few months. Had never heard of it. Everyone seems to be trying but nothing is going smoothly. Guess what? The service rep he talked to was rude & said we wouldn't be getting it until Monday & he should know this because the supervisor had noted that he told my husband this (the supervisor never said anything like this to my husband, he just kept saying he couldnt do anything to help & that its my fault for ordering the wrong part). The company has stalled for several months. In that particular case, the homeowner was very upset that the water heater would not stay lit after several failed attempts by the warranty service company trying to repair it that we uninstalled the American water heater and put a new Bradford White water heater in only 11 months later. The water heater is leaking water out of the overflow. Wow. Even though still within our warranty period, we can't find all the necessary paperwork to submit a claim, and after reading about the similar woes of other customers, it hardly seems worth it to deal with this company. But I got the right person on the line, and presto! Until I went on the internet and found this information, I was unaware of it and had not received notification about the replacement kit. Some 11 years ago, I bought a top-of-the-line Maytag gas water heater at Home Depot Pro. Unsubscribe easily. After going on internet and diagnosing the thermocouple on my American Water Heater as bad by testing the thermocouple with a meter, I then tried to replace the LEFT-THREADED thermocouple. Tightknot cedar is a cost saving alternative. Defective thermocouple/burner assembly went out on my water heater. The water needs to be replaced, only 4 years old. They wanted $1,500 to $1,800 total to install a new one. I don't even know where to begin with this. AWH says they contacted all registered owners under warranty and sent them a replacement kit with a thermocouple adapter. The pilot light went out and we could not get it to light and/or stay lit. Called Whirlpool, suggested Luquire, 22 miles away for repair. The guys at the
American Water Heater refused to give my plumbing supplier credit on the returned water heater. You want your hot water ASAP. AND will Whirlpool/AWHC cover all the cost of the warranty repair?
Very expensive - it is just a bunch of chemicals put together. $10 fix. We have an American water heater & the pilot light went out Sunday night. The thermocouple on my 7yo Whirlpool water heater went out Sat. When I called to inquire about how the warranty process works, a male customer rep immediately told me to have a plumber call them, period. I had no problem getting the return number but it's not much good if no one in San Jose or Santa Clara deals with American Water Heaters. Installation was completed on Fri, Dec 20, 2013. So the next day, I had a plumber over who did call the company as directed, and this time, the female customer rep. was willing to talk with me! It never happen before, bad Valve?? GRRRR. Solving water heater left hand thread thermocouple problem. It quit heating water about 2 or 3 months ago. After finding out that the thermocouple was a left hand thread and not universal I found out I had to replace the burner assembly unit. We were not told about the asbestos pipe either. So glad I saw this post. I just wanted to say that this fix worked! But he never mentioned that I did give the right serial after I gave the wrong one. m for a left-handed thermocouple. I opted for the cheapest delivery of $10, instead of the $30 overnight delivery offered (which many people will fall prey to, as they don't have the know-how to rig a temp fix - we need hot water!). Lowe's was the place I was sent to. I've had thermal couplers replaced (twice) and had replaced a valve, and it is still routinely malfunctioning. It started leaking! I installed one, tried it, and it didn't work. It sounds like an airplane. Allocation of total cost on HVAC in construction of bulding. At another customer's house, after several attempts to repair the American water heater, we installed another brand at that house since the American water heater kept giving us problems.